Best Dividend Stocks For 2014

For many investors, in fact, it�� hard to remember anything positive that has come out of the nation�� capital in recent months, but something very positive for the investor community has happened, and it actually wasn�� too long ago.

Had the so-called Bush tax cuts been allowed to expire at the end of last year, qualified dividends would have been subject to ordinary income tax rates, which for high earners is currently 39.6%. In a rare show of bi-partisanship, both sides came together and hammered out a deal that essentially capped qualified dividend taxes at 20% and made such tax rates a permanent part of the tax code.

Unlike so many of the budget and tax battles that consume Washington today on a recurring basis, the issue of dividend tax rates has largely been decided: They are simple and transparent and there are no expiration dates or sunset provisions attached.

While this has positioned dividend-yielding stocks as a very attractive option for investors, not every dividend-paying stock is created equal. With interest rate hikes possible in the near future due to the Fed potentially paring back its bond purchases, yield is increasingly taking a backseat to growth potential.

Top 10 Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:

  Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP  ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG  ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM  ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.

  When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.

Best Dividend Stocks For 2014: ProLogis(PLD)

Prologis Inc. is an independent equity real estate investment trust. It invests in the real estate markets across the globe. The firm engages in the ownership, development, management, and leasing of industrial distribution and retail properties. It was previously known as Security Capital Investment Trust. Prologis Inc. was formed in 1991 and is based in San Francisco, California with an additional office in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Industrial real estate developer Prologis� (NYSE: PLD  ) �has declared regular and preferred dividends for the second quarter of 2013. The company plans to distribute $0.28 per share of its common stock on June 28 to shareholders of record as of June 11. For its�8.54% Series Q cumulative redeemable preferred stock, Prologis will distribute $1.0675 per share, which will be paid on July 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 18.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Prologis (NYSE: PLD  ) has announced that it will sell 31 million new pieces of itself. That's the number of common shares it will float in an upcoming, underwritten public stock offering. The price of the shares will be $41.60 apiece, and the company's underwriters have been granted a 30-day purchase option for up to an additional 4.65 million shares to cover overallotments, if any.

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Among real estate trusts:

  American Tower��(AMT),�the diversified �REIT, is the best performer in the index.�It was�up 4.6% after saying�Friday it will buy the parent of tower operator Global Tower Partners for $4.8 billion. HCP (HCP), a healthcare REIT, was�up 3.3%. Prologis (PLD) an industrial REIT, was�up 2.8%. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) was�up 2.7%. Boston Properties (BXP), the office REIT, was�up 2.3%. Equity Residential (EQR), a residential REIT, was�up 2.4%. Ventas (VTR), a healthcare REIT, was�up 2%.

   

Best Dividend Stocks For 2014: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS  ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.

Best Dividend Stocks For 2014: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Motion and control systems manufacturer Parker-Hannifin (PH) raised its quarterly dividend 4.6% to 45 cents per share, payable on Dec. 6 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 8. The increase marks the 57th consecutive annual dividend increase.
  PH Dividend Yield:�1.55%